Oberthür's Grizzled Skipper

Pyrgus armoricanus (Oberthür, 1910)

Status

Description

A small dark brown, butterfly with clear white marks on its wings found in flowery banks with two broods a year. The white postdiscal spots on the forewing upperside in S4 and S5 are not contiguous with the spots in S6 to S8 (near the tip of the wing), which enables separation from the similar species in the genera Carcharodus and Muschampia. Usually without submarginal spots on the forewing which are distinct on the hindwing. On the underside of the hindwing, the ground colour is brownish-orange, and the white basal spot in S7 (font) the same size as the other two, whereas in P. malvae the spot in S7 is smaller than the others. Male and female are similar.

Habitat Requirements

Dry scrubby/maquis vegetation, roadside verges - areas with some bare ground. 

Larval Foodplants

Potentilla tabernaemontani, Potentilla reptans, Potentilla arenaria, Potentilla pedata, Woodland Strawberry Fragaria vesca.

Observations

Whilst Stamatis Ghinis records the presence of this species in Corfu - in his book 'Butterflies of Corfu' - only one member of CBC has photographed it. That member was Bri Smith, who photographed two individuals in early October 2020. The first was seen at Xanthates Springs and the second at Aghios Georgios. In both cases, the imagery shows the butterfly with its wings spread and clearly basking, presumably to thermoregulate. In personal communications Bri also described the butterflies crawlling through very low growing vegetation, behaviour that may have been a precursor to oviposition.

*The information provided in the tables below is based on verified sightings of the Oberthür's Grizzled Skipper submitted via this website since 1st January 2021.

First and Last Sightings

Year First Last/latest # Days
2023 06/05/2023 08/05/2023 2 days
2022 05/05/2022 21/10/2022 169 days
2021 04/05/2021 17/10/2021 166 days

Number of Observations

Year Number of observations
2023 2
2022 12
2021 13
Grand Total 27

Distribution Map

Distribution maps for this species are currently unavailable.

Flight Times for the Oberthür's Grizzled Skipper (2023)

The chart below shows flight data by month for 2023 submitted online since 1st January 2023 to 8th June 2023.

Flight Times for the Oberthür's Grizzled Skipper (All Data)

The chart below shows flight data by month based on all data submitted online since 1st January 2019 to 8th June 2023.

Taxonomy

  • Vernacular/Common Name: Oberthür's Grizzled Skipper
  • Family: Hesperiidae (Latreille, 1809)
  • Sub-family: Pyrginae (Burmeister, 1878)
  • Tribe: Pyrgini (Burmeister, 1878)
  • Genus: Pyrgus (Hübner, 1819)
  • Species: armoricanus (Oberthür, 1910)

References

For a list of references, please see our bibliography page.